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This Week's Webinar: Walk Through of CFAD on Web Portal

This week's webinar will feature a walk through of completing the CFAD on the Consortia Web Portal. The webinar will be on Friday, April 29 at 12 p.m.-1 p.m. and will be recorded and posted to the AEBG Webinar series page. Visit that page or see below for directions on connecting to the webinar.

Click the Meetings tab at the top of the screen or the Join a Class or Meeting Button at the bottom of the screen

Locate your meeting and click Connect

Fill out the form using passcode 314393 and click Connect

Please note that some participants have been having trouble connecting to CCCConfer webinars possibly due to a system upgrade to Windows 10. If you are having trouble connecting, or have in the past, please contact CCCConfer Client Services so that they can provide assistance. You can contact them by phone at 1-760-744-1150 ext. 1537 or 1554, or by email at clientservices@cccconfer.org.

Reminder: The Consortium Fiscal Administration Declaration (CFAD) is due by May 2nd 2016. The CFAD Reporting Template enumerates and describes required elements for the CFAD. It is intended to support Consortia coordinate and plan their responses in advance of the reporting window.

The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) is doing an AEBG Implementation Study. The purpose of the study, which will include consortia and state level partners, is to get a clearer sense of the system change impacts resulting from this effort to redesign adult education in California. This survey went out this week to member the AEBG contact list of member representatives and primary contacts. It should take 10-15 minutes to complete. Your contribution will help bring practitioners' views into the mix. Please contact Judy with any questions or concern: jmortrude@clasp.org.

Save the Date for the 2nd Annual AEBG Summit

Mark your calendars for the second annual Adult Education Block Grant summit! The event will be held on October 6-7, 2016 in Sacramento. Each region will be invited to send up to 4 participants to the event. Stay tuned for more details to come.

AEBG 2016-17 Allocation Intent to Award Letter

A letter was sent last week to the regional consortia primary contacts, fiscal contacts, and certifying officers regarding the intent to award the AB104 AEBG Regional Consortia Allocations for 2016-17. Please be sure your regional leadership team and fiscal contacts receive this letter.

AEBG is on a roll - preliminary schedules have been posted ($500M), 16-17 planning documents and templates have been released, hearings are done, and the data & accountability question is almost behind us. So what's next with the Adult Education Block Grant? Why is student data reporting so critical? How are we evaluating program service levels against regional need? As we get ready for Year 2, what's on the horizon for Year 3 and beyond? Come listen to Carmen and Neil from the AEBG Office to get you caught up on this amazing effort!

New FAQs have been posted to aebg.cccco.edu. The FAQs will be updated with questions submitted during the weekly webinar and posted by the Wednesday following the webinar. These FAQs are FAQs will be organized by date posted and sections with new FAQs will be indicated in red font.Be sure to check out the FAQs section weekly for updated information.

The 2016-17 Final Annual Plan Template and Guidance have been posted. These documents will be used to describe to the state legislators and agencies the progress each Consortium made in Year 1 of the block grant towards achieving their AEBG Three-Year Plan. The format also provides a platform for updating activities and goals for Year 2. The Year 2 Plan Template was created with the following in mind:

As much as possible, the Plan format should provide content clarity between Year 1 proposals and progress and Year 2 updates, while limiting the amount of reiterative writing needed from consortia submitters. In order to provide consistency, the structure is largely the same. Some information is auto filled (and locked) to facilitate reflection, updates and planning.

It is understood that Year 1 was short. The timing of this Year 2 Plan is intended to begin aligning AEBG with the Program year for most educational programs, and with WIOA and other major Adult Education and CTE efforts. The sections in this Plan encourage reflection on what has be achieved to date, what the successes and challenges have been, and what implications those have for moving forward.

Data will not be available on Year 1 enrollment and student achievements until after the end of the program year (June 30, 2016). Setting enrollment and performance targets for Year 2 will occur after year-end data is available - in August 2016. In this Annual Plan, we are looking to learn from the consortia about the trends they are seeing to date for achieving the goals of the AEBG. This review can help both the state and the consortia plan more effectively for Year 2. An overview of the progress made to date by the state on the AEBG Data Tracking System is provided in Section 4.

America's Promise Job-Driven Training GrantsThe Obama administration announced an investment of $100 million for America's Promise Job-Driven Training grants (America's Promise Grants) to connect more Americans to education and in-demand jobs. Early this summer, H-1B funded grant competition will be launched by the Department of Labor to create and expand innovative regional and sector partnerships between community colleges and other training providers, employers, and the public workforce system to create more dynamic, tuition-free education and training programs for in-demand middle and high-skilled jobs across the country. Built off the model of shared responsibility for educating this nation's students and workforce, America's Promise Grants continue to build on the Administration's investments to strengthen education, training, and employer engagement.

On April 13, 2016, USCIS published a revised version of Form N-400, Application for Naturalization. If the applicant uses a preparer or interpreter, the entire preparer and interpreter section must be completed and signed (as appropriate). For information on how to complete the revised form, and where eligibility requirements can be found, visit uscis.gov/n-400. For additional information refer to our Guide to Naturalization.

Practices with Promise Spotlight

ACCEL Web Developer/Coding Pathway Collaboration

The ACCEL Consortium (San Mateo County) includes Cabrillo USD, Jefferson Union High School District, La Honda-Pescadero USD, San Mateo County Community College District, San Mateo Union High School District, Sequoia Union High School District, South San Francisco Unified School District

THE CHALLENGE

Sequoia Adult School and the local CBO JobTrain had worked together over the years to provide referrals to each other's programs for High School Equivalency and basic skills development at the Adult School and CTE at JobTrain. There was no systematic referral or tracking system nor were students from the Adult School necessarily prepared for or possessed the HSE needed for targeted CTE programs. The local community college, Canada College, also provided some classes that were similar in nature to JobTrain and students were not sure what would be the best path in certain fields.

THE SOLUTION

In April 2015, Canada College, JobTrain and Sequoia Adult School collaborated to pilot a Coding/Web Development class targeted to low-income individuals, with the goal of providing the training and support services students need to transition to high paying jobs and/or college. An assessment process was developed using Career Ready 101 Locating Information test that was determined by the web development teachers to be the most important skill needed for success. Students who did not have the HSE and/or scored low on the test were referred to the Adult School. Qualified candidates took the class as a cohort. Canada College adjusted its classes so as to position them as the next in a sequence if the students wanted higher level certificate.

Please take a few moments to review the information for your region included in the consortium details and if you see errors, scroll down to the bottom of your region's details page and find the red exclamation point icon. Click on "Tell Us" and complete the web form to let us know of any changes that need to be made.

Have Questions or Comments? Send them to AEBG@cccco.edu

Have questions or comments regarding AEBG? Please help us help you by sending any questions or comments to aebg@cccco.edu rather than directly to Neil Kelly or Carmen Martinez-Calderon. Sending them to the AEBG inbox helps us get back to you more quickly and efficiently!